The Mouth of the Jungle
The Mouth of the Jungle is an encounter in High Tide. Enemies * Merfolk Hunter (The Mouth of the Jungle) (100 Gold, 100 XP, 100 Energy, 3 HP (Normal); 4 HP (Hard); 4 HP (Nightmare)) Transcript Introduction You've made it to the mouth of the jungle path, which thankfully doesn't seem to have any sand for giant crabs to hide beneath. The trees betray no movement, but their many branches are thick with leaves that could provide your enemies with hiding places overhead. The jungle is ripe with potential for another ambush. "Tell me, %boy%." Jonas's eyes do not meet yours, as they're instead focused on the trees and all the shadows they hold. "Did your father teach you military tactics, too?" "We studied the military campaigns of the great generals in West Kruna." Even with the lack of movement, you can't bring yourself to sheathe your sword. Instead, you hold it tightly at your side. "So no real training? No working with a unit? No military service for one of the City Lords?" Your eyes narrow. The City Lords have earned a reputation for hoarding resources away from the squalling, starving mobs crowded within their metropolis strongholds, and those who serve in their private militaries tend to be notorious for their cruelty. Jonas grins when he sees your expression. "Good. I didn't think that it was really a possibility, but I had to make sure." The gnome pulls out a pair of tinted glasses from a pocket on his vest, then hands another pair to you. "Alright, here's your first lesson in how to thwart an ambush." You don the optics and are shocked to discover that they don't obscure your view. Instead, everything and everyone in the area seems to have bright colors overlaying their forms. "What..." Your sentence hangs in the air, unfinished, as you look around and drink in all the new sights. "Mistress Ovela designed them after the gnomes retreated to Master Ingenie's tunnel laboratories in the mountains, so we could detect the predators sharing our territory." He holds up his hand and waggles his fingers, which leaves faint trails of light across your enhanced vision. "Detects heat." "Every living being needs heat to live. Mammals, like you and me, generate our own heat. That isn't the case for other species, like fish. The merfolk regulate their own internal temperatures so they're constant." You look again through the trees and notice there are faint silhouettes resting on the branches. As opposed to all the vibrant yellows, greens, and oranges, the figures are colored a faint blue."In an environment like this, their body temperature is actually much cooler than their surroundings." Jonas finishes reloading his firearm and two other crewmen with similar eyewear and ballistic weaponry step up next to him. The three take aim at the canopy and let loose a volley of of arrows. There are screams and a moment later bodies begin to rain out of the branches. War cries sound from the jungle and merfolk begin to pour out onto the path from between the trees. "Hold them off, will you?" Jonas's voice is calm, and he's still focused on taking out the merfolk hiding in the branches above. "I need a minute to wrap things up here." Conclusion You dodge out of the way of what appears to be a morningstar made from coral. The weapon slices through the air where your head was a moment ago, slamming into a tree trunk. Spinning on the balls of your feet, you rise up to your full height and almost laugh when you see the burly hunter struggling to dislodge his weapon from the wood. Even though the comedy of the scene isn't lost on you, it doesn't stop you from lashing out with your own blade and separating his head from his body. You look over at Jonas and his men, all of whom are watching you. "Are you done pruning the trees?" "Oh, we finished ages ago." He scans the trees once more, just to make sure no targets were missed. The rest of the crew is standing around or casually leaning against the trees. Resting up. "Some backup would have been nice." "Yes, well. You just looked like you were having so much fun, we didn't want to get in the way of it. Almost looked like the most fun you've ever had." Jonas's eyes gleam with mischief. "Come on, we still have a ways to go and lots of merfolk to kill." With that, the gnome walks past you, the rest of the group following close behind. Category:High Tide